The VAR Guy

Ziff Davis Enterprise (publisher of eWeek, Baseline Magazine, CIO Insight Magazine and Channel Insider) has been sold. The buyer has yet to be publicly disclosed but multiple sources on Twitter point to Quinstreet, the lead generation company. Here’s the back story, which was a decade in the making.

The Super Bowl is nearly here — but The VAR Guy can’t say much about The Big Game since some of our blog team members are lifelong New England Patriots fans. And other bloggers here are far wiser New York Giants fans. (Guess which camp the always-wise VAR Guy belongs to?) While you’re weighing the answer to that question, here are the nine most read technology news and channel partner stories from our blog network — The VAR Guy, MSPmentor and Talkin’ Cloud — for the week ending Feb. 3, 2012.

The channel ebbs and flows with a variety of partners and vendors, and some shine more than others. That’s why Syncsort is highlighting its partners that exemplify the company’s values. Which partners secured Syncsort’s coveted 2012 Partner of the Year award? The VAR Guy’s got you covered…

Oracle President Mark Hurd and Channel Chief Judson Althoff are set to rally and educate 100 Oracle Specialized channel partners tomorrow at the company’s Redwood Shores, Calif., headquarters. The gathering, set for February 2, will include product roadmaps and strategies to help partners leverage Oracle as a partner growth engine. Here’s some insight from The VAR Guy.

VMTurbo has gone from startup to big-time virtualization player over the last year, and now the company has launched VMTurbo Operations Manager 3.0, representing a maturation of its flagship product with enhanced operational features. The VAR Guy spoke to Derek Slayton, VP of marketing, and Bernie Hannon, director of channel sales, about the new announcement. Here’s what VARs should know …

The VAR Guy just got a call from HR double-checking a help-wanted ad for a freelance website manager. Yes indeed, our resident blogger’s alleged media empire needs to find additional talent to fuel more growth. But even before more help arrives, web traffic continues to grow. Here are the nine most read technology news and channel partner stories from our blog network — The VAR Guy, MSPmentor and Talkin’ Cloud — for the week ending Jan. 27, 2012.

Lenovo is quietly planning to accelerate its server initiatives in 2012. But first, the PC giant is focusing like a laser on a four-screen initiative — smart phones, tablets, PCs and smart TVs. To execute on all fronts, Lenovo will need more channel partners. But will Lenovo’s channel become saturated with partners along the way? Lenovo North America Channel Chief Chris Frey (pictured) says absolutely not. Here’s why.

The VAR Guy is suffering from a case of virtualization deja vu. Or is it double-vision? The symptoms: VMware today launched the VMware Solution Exchange, a virtualization and cloud solutions marketplace. It’s designed to help customers, partners and developers to more easily find and select VMware-certified solutions. Now, the twist…

AMD, Apple, CA Technologies and EMC each reported quarterly results today. Their respective results suggest corporate technology spending continues to accelerate — perhaps setting the stage for a strong year in the IT channel.

When Novell introduced GroupWise 2012 this week, some pundits said nobody cares about the new release. The VAR Guy respectfully disagrees. Perhaps Novell GroupWise 2012 won’t set the world on fire. But the upgrade’s arrival represents a key vote of confidence from Attachmate (Novell’s parent) to the GroupWise community — including some channel partners. Here’s why.

Dell’s OEM Solutions division today said it will offer customized SUSE Linux Enterprise servers to customers. But the far more interesting nugget of information for partners involves SUSE Studio, which Dell will use to build and deploy customized Linux application stacks. Here’s why.

The VAR Guy — like many media pundits — has openly questioned Microsoft CEO Steve Baller’s leadership over the past year or two. But while watching CNBC today, The VAR Guy heard a rather interesting thesis that suggests Ballmer has built Microsoft to stand the test of time — while Apple and Google could each suffer from one fatal flaw.

The VAR Guy may try to squeeze his way into Candlestick Park this weekend to watch the Giants vs. 49ers. But before our resident blogger begins an alleged cross-country journey from New York to San Francisco, here’s a look at the nine most read channel partner news stories from our blog network — The VAR Guy, MSPmentor and Talkin’ Cloud — for the week ending January 20, 2012.

From technology giants like IBM and Intel to smaller–but growing–tech firms like Adtran and F5 Networks, a lengthy list of technology companies announced quarterly earnings results this week. Overall, earnings season is shaping up well. Sure, some technology companies are suffering from isolated hiccups. But the IT market, as a whole, looks healthy. Here’s a look at the Adtran, F5, IBM and Intel results.

In a surprise announcement, Ingram Micro named Alain Monie (pictured) as its next CEO, effective tomorrow (Friday, January 20, 2012). Monie succeeds outgoing CEO Greg Spierkel. Company insiders say the Ingram Micro CEO change and transition may have been planned in October 2011, the moment Monie agreed to return to Ingram Micro as president and COO.

When Microsoft announced Q2 financial results today, the two-part song remained the same: Demand for the company’s business applications — Exchange, SharePoint, Lync and Dynamics CRM — continues to accelerate, while sales of Windows sank 6 percent. CEO Steve Ballmer is calling for patience as Microsoft prepares Windows 8 for delivery sometime in 2012. But The VAR Guy is starting to wonder: Can Windows 8 really energize Microsoft and its partner community?

Red Hat has launched Enterprise Virtualization 3.0, packed with two partner surprises: First, there’s a “central hub” that allows RHEV partners to showcase products and applications certified for Red Hat’s virtualization platform. Second, a new certification called “Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization-Certified” will help partners to stand out in the crowd. With those bonus efforts, can Red Hat and its partners gain ground on VMware?

First, the Bellini Brothers launched ConnectWise Capital to invest in channel-centric companies. Now, the Sorensen brothers — Arlin and Brad — are investing in VARVID, which produces video content for the IT channel. Here’s a look at the players, and the potential opportunities ahead for VARVID.

The VAR Guy is preparing to get his game face on. Some staff members love Tom Brady and Co. But our resident blogger is more of a Giants fan — and hoping for the best out in Green Bay. But before the tailgating begins, here are the nine most read channel partner news stories from our blog network — The VAR Guy, MSPmentor and Talkin’ Cloud — for the week ending January 13, 2012.

CES 2012 turned out to be a smorgasbord of technology, bucking expected trends while simultaneously exceeding expectations of others. But instead of digging through tech specs and product highlights, The VAR Guy has the straight dope. Here’s the CES 2012 wrap-up for the week …

The palpable buzz of CES every January can drown out other news, which could also explain why distribution companies have been quiet as of late. But both Avnet and Ingram Micro have come out of their shells, boosting digital signage technology and data disposal solutions respectively. Want the scoop? The VAR Guy won’t waste your time …

The VAR Guy is seeing green. Lots of it. Seems like the IT industry and mainstream marketers have fallen for green lizards. The latest entrant comes from ChannelEyes, a social media network for channel partners that launches a limited pilot today. The ChannelEyes mascot is Charlie Channel. He looks like a close relative of Geeko — the SUSE Linux mascot. Oh, and don’t forget about the GEICO Gecko — not exactly high-tech, but this is a far-fetched blog entry so stick with The VAR Guy…

When the sun was shining in the summer of 2011, The VAR Guy was soaking up as many rays as possible at Dell’s inaugural Storage Forum in Orlando, Fla. Dell has since taken the Storage Forum show on the road to foggy London town, where the company has unveiled a new set of storage solutions under the “Fluid” moniker. Here’s the rundown …